Teenager Charged in Assault of Arena Worker at NBA YoungBoy Concert

NBA YoungBoy and a Kansas City concert unraveled into chaos when a 66-year-old arena staffer was violently attacked by a teenager, now facing felony charges.

The incident occurred on September 21 at the T-Mobile Center, where NBA Youngboy was performing. A viral video captured the moment the teen shoved longtime employee Thomas Schlage to the ground and punched him repeatedly.

Schlage said the teen’s rage was overwhelming.

“I mean, it is serious; I went down and had blows to my head. Just getting him off, getting him off of me … because he was so enraged, so we were just, in essence, trying to protect the fans,” he told Kansas City’s Fox4

The teen also allegedly struck a security guard while being escorted from the venue. The 16th Judicial Circuit’s Juvenile Office in Jackson County has charged the unnamed minor with one felony count of assault and one misdemeanor count.

Due to the suspect’s age, his identity has not been disclosed.

Local pastor Robert McDaniel, who recorded the altercation, said it began over a seating dispute. “He was asked to move to another place, because his ticket wasn’t where he was sitting,” McDaniel said. “And immediately he just completely lost it.”

Despite the trauma, Schlage expressed a balanced reaction to the charges. “Accountability is important,” he said, but added, “it was kind of sad things got to this point. Restraint, cooperation, and respect are important lessons to learn.”

The T-Mobile Center has not issued a statement about any updates to its security policies following the incident.